The Mental Game
Posted: 2008-04-12 15:20:27
Poker is as much a mental game as anything else. How you are feeling, acting, and doing are all related to your mental stability. So many times I sit down to play and within minutes I know that I am not mentally capable to handle the swings and emotions that come with putting in a full day, or playing a long multi table tournament. Unfortunately this has cost me over the years. I would sign up for as many as 8 tournaments at once before I even knew if I had the mental stamina to compete at a high level. I would let the smallest things control my mood, and my game. Bad beats would affect me, and put me on tilt so easily that my game would go in the dumps. I usually don't even know what it is that is making me feel this way. Maybe I'm just tired, or burned out. Perhaps I've had a bad day outside of poker. Whatever it is, you need to be capable of recognizing it as fast as possible, before you put too much money at risk when you aren't mentally prepared to do so.
What can you do to avoid this, and possibly find out where you stand mentally? I would suggest starting your poker day out smaller than normal. Instead of playing a bunch of high dollar tournaments, start with a sit n go to test your mood. If you normally play 3/6 no limit cash games, pull up a 1/2 no limit game and test your mood. Make a decision on if you are mentally ready to play at your normal stakes without being emotionally invested. If you find that small things are rubbing you the wrong way, then you found your answer for a lot cheaper than you might have normally. You now know that you can't play you top game mentally and emotionally and you can walk away.
Recognizing when you have your "A" game and when you don't is very important. Don't spend a lot of time and money fighting a fight you know you probably can't win. Make the proper preparations, and adjustments to ensure that you are mentally ready to play at the level you know you can play at.
Good Luck
Debo
